Oh man, it's been too long! I'm sorry - life has been crazy! Somebody tell my boss that work interfere with my ability to write fanfiction. I hope the next one won't take as long!

The responses last chapter were amazing! Thank you!! You're all the best! I even hit 100 reviews! Whooo! (Let's hit 200, perhaps? hahaha). You all are amazing and I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love all you guys and how inspiring the reviews have been!

Also, similar to the other chapter when I told you the beginning might be confusing, same goes for this one. Once again, it is on purpose because Remy, himself, is confused.

Oh! Sidenote:Today, at Walgreens, the worker was named Anna Marie. No joke!

Turning Point - Chapter 7

Times Were Different

It had been an interesting day to say the least. Honestly, Remy was still trying to wrap his head around it. Rogue's blow up at him had been completely unwarranted.

He sighed; it had been an interesting day to say the least.

Remy glanced over at the playpen situated along side the bed he currently sat on. With each rise and lowering of his sleeping daughter's chest, he could feel a warmth within his own chest. He knew she melted the ice growing inside of him. Thank goodness for that little one; without her. . . Without her, he didn't know.

Part of him was still angry with Rogue; probably the same part that was still angry at Belladonna. Worst of all, he wanted to be angry; he'd rather feel anger than feel nothing. Had he been thinking logically, he made have been able to make sense of Rogue's feelings, but, of course, he wasn't thinking logically. She had no right to judge him, he reminded himself. She knew nothing of his life, and even if she had, she still wouldn't have understood him. No one could understand him.

Surely she couldn't hold something against him that happened two years ago. He scoffed to himself as he dealt out his cards to play a game of solitaire. That would be childish. And as far as needing him goes? It was like he told her, he didn't know she needed him. And why should he? Remy was relatively sure than Rogue had washed her hands of him (the same way he was forced to do of her) when his back was turned to her and he left with Jean Luc.

The card he had placed into her palm may have been used to say all the things he couldn't (re: I'm sorry, don't forget), but it was also a parting gift. It was goodbye (and a bitter one at that). He knew, as soon as he turned on his heel to follow his (excuse for a) father's figure, that New York (Bayville, Magneto, the X-men, Rogue) were a piece of his past, and that was it. A past that was now gone (but not soon enough forgotten). As soon as his heel hit the dirt, he could practically hear the chiming of those stupid wedding bells he knew were his fate.

He was angry at Jean Luc. It was his father's fault he was where he was now.

No. Remy breathed out angrily, it wasn't Jean Luc's fault; it was his; it was Remy's. He chose to have a child; he chose to leave Belladonna. Even if he felt like his was coerced into either position, Remy was quite aware that he, himself, was the one who carried out both actions. Hell, he was the one who knocked Belladonna up in the first place.

The straight line of his mouth turned downwards at the edges. He had indeed brought himself to where he was, both figuratively and literally. He wasn't happy, not really, not in the grand scheme of things. Maybe once his anger and bitterness melted away, he could be happy again, but he was sure. How could he not be bitter though? He spent nearly half his life on the streets, scavenging for food, picking pockets for money, fighting for a place to sleep, and getting beaten when larger street kids wanted his dry place for themselves. Then, in an almost cruel twist of fate, he was finally taken in, but only to be adopted by a family wrapped up in an international crime syndicate who had had plans for his powers before he was even around. He was taken in, trained like a dog in both obedience and etiquette, forced to work his way up the ranks to become a Master, and beaten when he stepped out of line. Not to mention his powers nearly destroying him before he gained control, and later taking his control away and turning on him. Despite the buried guilt, at least he could say that Sister hadn't caused blood on his hands for the first time. He liked to think that Genevieve wasn't completely his fault; he liked to think he could blame Creed for a part of it, but deep down he knew he owned the entire fault. The idea that he could not live without Henry beside him should have placated him with the choice he made, but it did little to absolve him of the pain he felt.

But like he had reminded himself many times, like Tante Mattie had whispered in his ear when she held him as a shaking, malnourished boy, he was a fighter.

He was a man built from guilt, blood, pain, and torment, enclosed by sheer raw power, placed in an obscenely gorgeous body and face. Little had been able to get to him, and for most of his life, save a few preteen years blinded by wishful ignorance, little had been able to give him the taste of happiness most others came in contact with nearly every day.

Having a child, though, having a child had changed him. He wouldn't admit it, not to anyone, even if Mercy called him out on it quite a few times, but he was noticeably softer around the edges.

Of course, to anyone who didn't know Remy very well (which was all but about 5 people), soft would not have been a word used to describe him. He was rough, his eyes were dark, his posture held an air of defiance and capability, and the hard lines of his jaw as well as the upturn of his smirk were devious, slippery, conniving. That was why most people didn't know Remy LeBeau. Upon first glance, he was more than a force to be reckoned with and his threatening inhumane agility and stance chased away all but few who were willing to take that risk.

Liliette had changed him though, as hesitant as he was to admit it to himself (or heaven forbid, anyone else). He wasn't softer in obvious ways, but more subtle ways. He thought more; thought about the meaning behinds his words, thought about the meaning behind his actions, thought about the future, considered other people besides himself, thought about how his actions could effect his daughter.

He laughed bitterly to himself; he never thought he become that guy. Of course, to be honest, he never thought much about what he'd become. He was born a street rat, turned thief, and according to Guild doctrine, he'd die a thief; thief then, thief now.

Rinse and repeat.

But the idea of becoming something else? Not a lackey, not a Guild member . . . A father? Well, Remy LeBeau had never backed down from a challenge and he put all his effort into fatherhood since day one. Despite his current situation, which was still pulling him into the depths a despair and anger, he was proud to be a father and to raise Lily (even if he was going to do it on his own.) Despite everything, seeing Lily toddle down the hall today, unassisted, on her little feet, made everything in his life worth it.

The anger slid off his shoulders as he looked at the playpen; it made everything worth it. The paternal pride that had welled up in his stomach and warmed his heart had been something he had only experienced a few times (such as seeing Lily's eyes for the first time, hearing Lily coo "papa" for the first time, and watching Lily stand on her own).

Seeing her take those steps . . . Remy smiled broadly as he remembered his daughter's earlier accomplishment. She was absolutely amazing; that baby could do anything. Mutant or otherwise, she could do anything!

Seeing her take those steps . . .Remy replayed the moment in his head. That cute little head topped with an auburn tuft tilted to the side as Lily took an unsteady step. She had taken more steps until she reached Rogue.

Remy froze and he thought about it some more. Liliette had walked away from him and towards Rogue. His stomach dropped briefly, for a moment. Shouldn't his daughter been walking towards him? Not away from him? And further more, he had watched Lily raise her arms to Rogue? Remy rarely let others take his daughter into their arms, and Lily had practically asked for it. He wasn't sure how he felt about that at all.

The fingers of his left had twitched and he pushed away the urge for a smoke.

He glanced at Lily unsurely and sighed in confusion, "Oh bebe. Don' know wat 'm gonna do wit y'."

Remy LeBeau was definitely a little soft around the edges. He was known for him brash and impulsive actions, but he had definitely been thinking more, thinking before he acted. Sure, Rogue had blown up at him, and he wasn't over it, but it was up to him to choose how he reacted. Maybe Lily's steps had been a blessing, cutting him off from anything else he would have said.

Before his daughter was born, he wouldn't have censored anything he said to Rogue (or anyone else, for that matter), but now. . . But now, times were different. Remy wasn't an honorable man, and he could admit that, but he wanted to be a man his daughter could be proud of. He wanted to be a man she could look up to. More so, he knew she could hear every word he said, that she would watch every move he made, and he wanted to set a good example for her. He wanted to be good for her.

He sighed heavily as the thought pulled towards the front of his mind, questioning him if he could raise her. Remy LeBeau, the scoundrel, trying to father a child? Impossible. He gave his head a quick shake, knowing he could always return to that question later.

Lily made him question things. Why had she walked to Rogue? He shook his head again. He had to push his anger aside. Clearly he had to talk to the girl. He considered this. No, maybe not.

His eyes narrowed. What was this about her needing him? She never said anything! He felt his anger returning. How should he have known?! They hadn't seen each other for six months! It wasn't his job to come to her rescue! They weren't even friends!

But then again. . . maybe they were friends? . . . Then it would have been his job to help her?

He dropped his cards onto the bed, in clear frustration. In the past, he never would have taken the time to work his feelings out in his head. Well, actually, in the past, he would forgo his feelings all together. The only emotions he had let himself become acquainted with there those of lust and vengefulness. All these emotions were a new animal to him. He growled quietly, angrily, as he tried to push emotions away from his mind. That was one thing he didn't want to deal with either.

Liliette stirred, waking up on her own from her nap. She stood up, holding the side of her playpen, and whined quietly, making cooing noises that Remy was all too familiar with. "Papa!"

Remy looked up to see his daughter looking at him. He pushed his own frustrations aside and decided to focus on Lily. He moved to the edge of his bed, near her playpen, and lifted her onto the bed next to him. He unsnapped the closure of her "Daddy's Little Princess" onesie so he could check her diaper. He took the time to change her and then decided he had to get to the store. He had a long list of things he needed, but the amount of diapers he had was very low so he decided to go now. He pulled a little pink skirt over her onesie, and then pulled equally little white leggings over her onesie, and under her skirt as well.

All other thoughts out of his mind momentarily, he grinned widely as he put mini gym shoes onto her small feet (shoes made for walking, no less). He velcroed the glittery pink shoes and leaned over Lily. His smile grew as he tickled her sides, pausing only to place kisses on her belly. He felt himself calm at the sound of her giggles and even laughed a little himself. He sighed again, but it wasn't so heavy this time. He leaned over and pulled her beloved sock monkey out of the playpen as well. He'd have no hope of getting through a shopping trip without it.

He looked at the little girl who was reaching her chubby arms up at with, with drool running down her chin, and suddenly, things weren't so bad. "Ah, Liliette, tings aren't so bad, I suppose." He sat up and pulled the wiggling, babbling child onto his lap. "Tings can' b' so bad when I got y'. Yo' papa loves s' so much, bebe. 'M so proud o' y'."

Lily responded by turning her head towards her father and pushing her face against his dress shirt, leaving a wet spot, from her drooling, behind. "Lily, dis is a six hundred doll'r shirt." Remy groaned, but there was no annoyance behind it and he stood up, resting his daughter over his hip.

He turned to the dresser in his bedroom to look in the mirror and give himself a once-over. He sat Lily (and her monkey) on the dresser, and she was immediately distracted by her own reflection, cooing curiously as she smudged fingerprints all over the mirror's surface.

Remy lifted his comb off his dresser and pulled it through his chin length hair. He grabbed a small rubber band and tied his hair back tightly, at the nape of his neck. He smoothed his gray Dior dress shirt down with one hand. He also had on a pair of tight dark blue jeans and black boots. It was clear to anyone that he was nothing short of gorgeous.

Reaching back towards the dresser, he lifted the soft bristled hairbrush that he had placed next to his comb. He momentarily ignored his daughter as she reached for his shirt, and took the time to brush her hair. Taking the soft tie off the handle off the brush, he made a little 'whale spout' on top of her hand, the same way he had done the day before. He smiled warmly as he looked down at her.

He had become a father, and he promised himself that he would be proud of little Liliette for whatever she would choose to become, be it thief, pilot, doctor, astronaut, chef, or. . . mother . . ."Dieu, Lil', I promise I b' dere f' y', no matter wat."

He grabbed his aviator sunglasses off the dresser and smoothly slid them on. Next, he grabbed the smaller pair of hot pink sunglasses and slid them onto Lily as he picked her up as she held tightly to her monkey and headed towards the door of his room, only pausing to pull on his trench coat. He grabbed the diaper bag that was resting on the floor near his door and slung it over his shoulder before closing his door and heading down the stairs.

. . .

Jubilee grinned widely at the sight before her as she sat with the Professor, Ororo, Storm, Kitty, and Rogue at the kitchen table, eating lunch. The image in front of her was just too darn sweet for words.

Remy walked into the kitchen, child on his hip, making silly expressions at Lily while she looked up at him with her little pink sunglasses on and giggled. As Remy stepped through the doorframe and saw the other mansion occupants, his face quickly slid back to his cool indifference as he gave a nod in their direction.

Jubilee couldn't help but continue to look Remy over. The man looked amazing, and seeing him act as a father just added to his sex appeal. She leaned over to Kitty and whispered quietly, "He's so hot!"

Rogue didn't say anything.

Remy approached the fridge and sat Lily on the floor by his feet. He opened the door of the fridge and found the ziplocks he had placed in there the evening before. He grabbed two snack size bags, one filled with pieces of a Bartlett pear cut into small dime size bites and the other was filled with bite sizes pieces of green pepper. He pulled out a bottle of apple juice, closed the fridge and placed the ziplocks into the diaper bag on the counter next to him, and pulled out a clean sippy cup.

"So Remy, what are your plans for the day?" The Professor observed his newest resident closely and spoke warmly to him.

Remy looked up from where he was filling the sippy cup half with water and half with juice. "Goin' t' de store, Professor. Gotta pick up some food an' diapers." Although Charles had made it clear that Remy could help himself to the food in the mansion, he wasn't quite comfortable doing that especially if he hadn't paid for the food himself. He only did so to feed Lily, but planned on buying his own groceries today.

He looked down to see his daughter pushing herself up with her hands. Once on her feet she began to toddle side to side, stepping her way past the island she was placed next to. Remy watched her, awestruck, and she walked, unsteadily, but fearlessly. She had one tiny fist wrapped around her sock monkey's tail as she dragged it on the floor, following behind her. His chest tightened the same way it had earlier and he could feel tension lift from his shoulders. There was little to worry about when he had his world in front of him.

Charles, continued the conversation, seeing as he was unaware to Lily's newfound ability, "What a coincidence! We were just about to send Rogue about for our weekly grocery shopping. The older residents take turns each week. You'll probably get added into chore rotation by the end of the week."

Remy frowned.

Charles misinterpreted the look, "There is nothing to have worries about, Remy. Of course, your chore load will be significantly lighter than that of our other residents. It's quite clear you all ready have your hands full."

Lily took off her sunglasses and dropped them on the kitchen floor. She stumbled slightly and fell back onto her bottom. She gurgled but pushed herself back up determinately. She held tightly onto her monkey as she looked around curiously. She blinked a few times and headed towards the voices she heard at the table.

"Anyway," Charles continued, "Remy, you should accompany Rogue on her trip to the store. It will be most convenient seeing as you just moved back to town. Feel free to add anything to the shopping list."

The last thing Remy wanted to do was spend more time with Rogue. He couldn't picture time with her being anything but awkward and upsetting. Despite that, though, Remy was not going to argue with Charles. Charles had given Remy a safe haven for his daughter, no questions asked, and for that, he planned on never disrespecting the man.

"Prof," Rogue frowned, "Ah don't think Ah need anyone tah join meh." She may have disagreed with Charles, but had the same need to respect him that Remy did.

"Nonsense," the warm smile was back as Charles continued, "Besides, it'll be good for Remy to see the town now that he's back. And the shopping needs to get down regardless."

Remy was unsure about spending the afternoon with someone he was clearly still angry at, but he was distracted before he could think about it. Curiously, he watched as Lily teetered over to the group at the table and then fell back onto her rear. She looked around and from her position on the floor, was not able to see past the island to where her father was on the other side. As soon as she looked around and couldn't see him, she threw her head back and wailed loudly.

Remy was making his way over to her quickly, but not before tears started to form and Lily cried loudly.

Rogue watched inquisitively, as she had never seen Remy interact with an unhappy baby before. She may have still been upset with him, but she couldn't hold it against him that he was attentive to his daughter.

Remy knelt down on one knee in front of Lily and scooped her up to place her on his raised knee. He bounced his leg slightly as he held her close to his body. He cooed at her soothingly, "Shhhh Liliette, shhhh. C'mon bebe, shhhh." He stood up, holding the sock money in one hand and using both arms to cradle his daughter to his chest. "Oh Liliette, shhhh." His heart hurt as she grabbed his shirt with a small fist and she wailed one more time. He shifted her body so her face was against his chest and an arm was under her bottom holding her up against him. His other hand rubbed circles on her back as he bounced her slightly. "Papa's here, bebe." He sighed deeply as she started to quiet. He bent his head down and kissed her softly on the head.

Jubilee practically swooned. She was right; fatherhood made him so sexy.

Remy looked up at the faces looking at him, clearly uncomfortable with having others witness his open display of affection with his child.

Charles cleared his throat, "Now, if you two would like to get going?"

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

I know you all may hate the end of the chapter because we don't hit the shopping scene yet. You all are dying for Remy and Rogue to have to work it out! Either way, I want you all to know that I looooooved the beginning of this chapter. I'm seriously happy with it and that makes me feel soooo good! Wanna know my favorite part? I'm so excited, I'll even share my favorite line with you "He was a man built from guilt, blood, pain, and torment, enclosed by sheer raw power, placed in an obscenely gorgeous body and face." Love it! Uh! I'm just so happy with the beginning of this one!

Anyway, I would love your thoughts on what should happen next time. I kind of have it worked out all ready, but would you guys rather have R & R get along or not get along?

Oh! And how cute was Lil here? I love that kid!

Ummm review!

Reviews = love!